St. Margaret Mary Catholic School students in Slidell supporting young HeartGift patient.

Valentine’s Day this year will be about more than chocolate and stuffed animals for 8-year old Carmen from Honduras. Carmen has been accepted through HeartGift Louisiana and is scheduled to arrive Feb. 10 in New Orleans to receive life saving, open-heart surgery at no cost to her family.

Carmen was diagnosed shortly after birth with an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). She lives at home with her parents and two older siblings. Although her parents are both employed, they are not able to provide the surgery she needs because it is not available in Honduras. They have been searching for help for eight long years, and finally received an answer to prayer with a message from HeartGift letting them know Carmen had been accepted for surgery.

HeartGift’s all volunteer team of medical professionals, led by Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Joseph Caspi, are scheduled to provide surgery at Children’s Hospital on Feb. 14.

Carmen is traveling to New Orleans with her mother, Vivian. They have family living in Kenner and will be staying with them during their time in New Orleans. Additionally, the students and faculty of St. Margaret Mary School in Slidell will be supporting the family while they are in town. They have offered to send prayers, cards and words of encouragement during what will be a frightening time for this young family. Carmen will make multiple visits to the school to express her gratitude and share a little bit about her home country of Honduras.

While one in every 100 children is born with some form of congenital heart disease, only 10 percent of the world’s population has access to specialized cardiac care. HeartGift Louisiana was launched in early 2010 to address the gap in access to cardiac care around the world. This is the 21st patient served by the HeartGift Foundation in Louisiana; more than 200 lives have been saved by all chapters of HeartGift.